The Nation

Scattered light rain moved across parts of the drought-stricken South, but forest fires remained out of control in some states and forestry officials cautioned against too much optimism. "We may get a couple of days of relief but one rain is not going to take us out of the fire season," said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Doug Williams in Atlanta. He said rain fell over Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, plus Kentucky and West Virginia as a cold front swung eastward across the region. More than 10,000 fires have charred about 224,900 acres since Oct. 27 in the 13 states that make up the U.S. Forest Service's Southern Region.